Return to Royalty
by Herenya Brandybuck
Summary: AU, mostly set after Prince Caspian. The kids stay in Narnia as the Once and Future Kings and Queens, but what happens when Aslan sees fit to call another into Narnia? Better than the summary, I promise!
1. Prologue

**Return to Royalty**

**A/N: Ok so I'm obsessed with Narnia. This is just a product of way too much daydreaming, loosely based on a dream I had one night. Anyway. I know it sounds just like every other OC you've ever read but I promise it won't be. And I'm on Christmas break now so I'm gonna be updating it a lot. Anyway. Enjoy.**

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Prologue 

_So the Pevensies are back._

The war was finally over. Peter and Edmund were back at school, Lucy was at home with her mother, and Susan was attending school nearby. They had all come back with lovely stories about their stay with the Professor, such as exploring the huge house, playing hide-and-seek in the enormous garden, picnics in the woods, and other such things that children do when left to themselves by a grandfatherly guardian.

But they had friends back at school and home, after all, friends that knew them as they had been before the war had sent them to the country. Most of these friends would have just thought they had changed over the time they'd been away, as people usually do. But the most perceptive of these friends would admit that while they were still the same old Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy in essence, there was something decidedly different about them.

One such friend was Jennifer Brown, a girl who went to school with Peter and Edmund. She had become friends with the boys the previous year, enough so that she had gone home with them during the Christmas holidays that year since her parents lived far away. After the war, when they had gone back to school, they spent a fair amount of time together, since with a new school year and with the country torn apart by the war, friends were in short order.

And she, like a good friend would, had noticed things about all of them that an ordinary acquaintance would not.

_Lucy_ _is still the same bright, carefree, innocent child she always was. But there's something older, more seasoned about her. Not to the extend that it jades her childlike abandon, quite the contrary. But there are years in her eyes that I can't explain._

_And Edmund. He's the most obvious. Where once was a selfish bully, now is quite the ambassador for justice. It could have been the war, of course. He's so much more mature, more likeable, and fiercely loyal. There's a light in his eyes too, a kind, quiet light. He's still just a child, but there's a wisdom there that one would have never dreamed possible for him._

_Susan perhaps has changed the least. She's always been smart, practical, _grown-up._ But something about her radiates an otherworldly beauty. Not the kind that emphasizes makeup and dresses and parties and boys, but the kind that causes her to hold her head up straight and look you in the eye with a confidence that so many lack. _

_Peter. Dear Peter. His change is the most unexplainable of all. I don't know how to describe it. There's some kind of presence about him. Strong, powerful, solemn. Yet lighthearted at the same time. Noble. I know he's just an ordinary boy, but now he almost reminds me of a…yes, that's it! He reminds me of…_

_A king._


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok I changed the title. Cause the other one was just bad. Of course, this one's probably not much better. Cause I stink at that kind of stuff. Anyway.**

**PenPusherM: The reason I made her American is because this is based on a dream I had, and in the dream she was American. But...ok this is funny. Last night I was lying awake thinking about this and I thought, "How lame is that. American? I really should change it." Then this morning I come in here and find your review and I laughed out loud. You can imagine the first thing I did was change it. I said all that to say, good point.**

**iluvrobbie: This is not a romance...yet. Don't assume anything. ;-)**

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Chapter 1**

Jennifer was sitting on her bed studying when she heard something on her window. She ran to it and smiled. Peter was standing on the lawn under it throwing pebbles at the window to get her attention, with Edmund standing near. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, then mouthed, "I'll be right there."

When she got downstairs to them, she scolded. "You could have caught me when I wasn't in the middle of studying."

"We were bored!" Edmund said with a slight whine.

"Bored? Or just wanted company?"

"Both," Peter answered for him. "And anyway, who else is there for company? Everyone else around here is either too smart to have a normal conversation with or else too stupid for you to want to."

"Oh, why don't you both just admit that you can't live without me?" Jen teased. In truth she felt the same way about them, since they were the only real friends she had, and vice-versa.

Edmund opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again and cringed as a round, balding teacher of his passed and looked his way.

"Don't forget about that paper due on my desk at 8:00 sharp tomorrow morning, Pevensie," the teacher said, then went on his way.

"Oh no," Edmund whispered. "I swear he has it out for me. Of course he_ would_ know that I haven't even started it...I guess I'll be back later." And with that he headed in the direction of his room.

"Bored, huh?" Jen looked at Peter and laughed. "That boy..."

"Actually it surprises me," Peter said with a concerned look. "He hasn't forgotten an assignment this term. Not since...since we stayed with the Professor anyway."

"Oh." The two started walking. It was a clear spring day, just a few weeks before school was to let out for the summer holidays. "Well, could it be he's just anxious for school to be out?"

"No, that's not it...he's had something on his mind. Well, all year actually, but for some reason more lately."

"You act like you know what it is."

"I do. I've been thinking about it too."

"Well?"

He stopped. "I can't say."

"Can't say? Peter, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Don't you worry." He chuckled sadly. "It's not something we talk about with anyone." He looked her in the eye and half-smiled. "Not even our dearest friends."

"Well, all right. If you say so. I wish you'd tell me what's bothering you though."

They started walking again. "Maybe I will. Someday. But for now..." Then, almost too quickly, he changed the subject. "Have you thought about where you're going to stay this summer?"

"I suppose I'll go to my grandmother's house...it's not that far from here. My parents will be in Paris the whole summer and I don't suppose they'd want me along..." This was often the case with her parents. They did a lot of traveling and more often than not, she wasn't invited.

"You know you could always stay with us."

"I'd much rather...but Grandmother is already planning on having me. You know I'd love to though..." She trailed off, and they walked in silence.

_He's hiding something...they all are. I suppose we all have our secrets...but this must be big. This _is_ the most I've gotten out of either of them yet. Someday I'll find out what in the world they're talking about..._

Summer holidays were there before they knew it, and found Peter and Edmund at the train station headed home. Jennifer was there too, since her grandmother lived nearby and was to pick her up there in a couple of hours.

"I guess we'd better get on," Peter said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Edmund reached over and hugged Jen tightly. "It's going to be a long summer," he whispered sadly.

Jen nodded her agreement. "Don't get into too much trouble, you hear?" He nodded with a downcast expression.

Then Peter stepped up and hugged her. "You'd better write me," he said softly.

"Only if you write back." She smiled and playfully pushed him. "Now you get out of here. We can't have you missing your train."

As they boarded, there were shouts of, "See you next year!" and "Say hello to the girls for me!" As the last of the goodbyes faded away and the train pulled out of the station, Jen remained standing at the station once again feeling the doldrums of the summer holiday tugging at her heart.

Not for the first time, she found herself completely alone.

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Another A/N: Ok I know this chapter was bad. But bear with me...better stuff coming. Just had to set the stage. Dun dun dun! Ok I think I'm gonna go to the kitchen and get a bite to eat...and then come back in here and write Chapter 2!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Almost all of my stories end up being Mary Sues in some way or other. I really don't want that to happen with this one. Any ideas on how to keep from that?**

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Chapter 2**

A long and lonely summer passed. Soon it was the end of the holidays, and not soon enough for some. At the very same moment Peter and Edmund were saying goodbye to their sisters at the train station, Jennifer was at her grandmother's taking a break from packing. She had taken a walk in her grandmother's fairly sizeable garden and was now sitting under a tree, reading a book. It was a book she'd read before, one that was full of adventures and swords and castles and knights...one that made her long for another time, another place where those sorts of things actually happened. Of course, those days were long gone, so she had to settle for reading. And read she did. Only she wasn't reading for long.

There was a stream that ran through the garden that provided the most peaceful rushing sound, and it was one of those late summer days where it was warm, almost too warm unless you're sitting under a shade tree, which of course she was. She had just finished an apple, and she was a bit tired from the busy day. So she did what anyone would do. She fell asleep.

She woke up to voices around her. She thought it was her grandmother at first, but she soon heard more clearly, and she could tell that they were deep male voices that sometimes sounded strange...like the speech out of the book she had been reading only a moment ago.

"Is he dead?"

"Nay, brother. Look! He moves!"

"Wounded, perhaps?"

"I see no blood...perhaps he is sleeping?"

Something about the voices sounded familiar, very familiar in fact, though she couldn't place from where. She lay still, face down, hoping they would go away.

"From whence comes this stranger? Have we a highwayman on our hands?"

"What strange dress he has adopted!"

"Aye, strange...and yet familiar...like..." Suddenly the voice changed. "It looks jolly like our old clothes!"

"And it's no 'he' either...it's a girl!"

Suddenly she remembered how she knew the voices. She sat up like a bolt, and looked straight into the faces of her old friends Peter and Edmund. Or who had once been Peter and Edmund, for they sat astride magnificent horses, wearing kingly attire and long swords and on top of it all...crowns? Not only that, but she was in a breathtaking pine wood near a stream on a clear summer evening.

"I'm dreaming," she breathed. "Too much _Camelot..._right before going to sleep..._" _

"Jennifer?"

"Peter? Edmund? What's going on?"

"Well this is the last thing I'd expected! If this doesn't just make my day..." Edmund jumped off his horse and helped her up. She looked at him more closely. There was something different about him, and Peter too. She couldn't tell exactly what in the waning daylight of the woods though.

Peter dismounted his horse and embraced her as well. "What on earth are you doing here? This is a pleasant surprise!" The wide smiles of both boys confused her even more.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here? Where am I, how did _you _get here, and what on _earth _are you wearing?"

It's the feeling you get when two of your friends are laughing at some inside joke of which you are on the outside. The two boys looked at each other and burst out laughing. This only irritated her more. The boys could see this, and they stopped (or tried to stop) laughing.

"I'm sorry, Jen. I really am," Peter said with a sympathetic smile. "Here, why don't you help us build a fire and we'll explain everything over some supper."

Once the fire was going and they were cooking two large rabbits, which were the fruits of the boys' day hunting (which is what Jen soon found out they were doing), Peter and Edmund began to explain to a still-bewildered Jen what was going on.

Of course, they started out by telling her all about the events of their stay at the Professor's: the wardrobe, the witch, the war, Aslan, and their long reign as kings and queens before returning through the wardrobe. They then proceeded to inform her of the things that had happened ever since they had returned the second time. They had been called up by the young king Caspian and fought his evil uncle Miraz, and after winning the battle, Caspian had surrendered his title to the Once and Future High King of Narnia.

"That would be you?" Jen asked Peter. He nodded with a smile. "But...how long have you been here?"

"Jennifer, it's been two years that we've sat on the thrones."

"Two years? I don't understand...what was the day you arrived?"

Peter couldn't seem to remember. Edmund thought a minute. "It was September 2. That was it! September 2. We were on our way back to school--"

"Wait!" Jennifer interrupted. "No. That's today! Today is September 2. I don't know what time it is now, but when I fell asleep it was about one-thirty." She sighed and shook her head. "I am so confused!"

Peter only laughed. Edmund was more helpful in explaining the time inconsistencies. When he was through, Jen sat back. "Let me see if I've got this right. The two of you, as well as Susan and Lucy, were kings and queens here a year ago, only here it was thousands of years ago. You're back, and you've been back for two years, only you've really only been here a moment. You're out hunting, and I fall asleep and all of a sudden I'm here and you find me?"

The boys both nodded. "In a nutshell," Peter said. "I know it means something...things like this don't just happen." He thought a moment. "Tomorrow we'll take you back to the castle, and you'll stay with us and we'll have a jolly good time, and in the meantime we all need some sleep."

Edmund nodded his agreement. Then he laid his hand on Jen's arm. "We're glad you're here, Jen. I know you'll love Narnia."

"I already do," she said softly, looking up at the moon, far brighter than it is here, and the unfamiliar star constellations between the pine boughs overhead, then followed Peter and Edmund in laying down and soon finding a swift, sweet sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow these are the best reviews I've ever gotten! Thanks to everyone! It really keeps me going. PenPusherM, yes I am a hardcore fan. Some would say to a hopeless extent. lol. The reference to the constellations was intentional, but as for the apple...no, I'm afraid it was just an ordinary apple, to illustrate how easy it was to fall asleep...cause you know how you're always so sleepy when it's warm and you've just eaten something...BUT I wish I'd thought of that because the idea is very interesting...hmm. Something to think about...? ;-) Oh, and thanks for the tips on the MS's...somehow mine always end up that way but I'm seriously avoiding it this time. Ok anyway. Just a quick disclaimer--I have taken a bit of _Prince Caspian _and put it in to set something up...from the beginning to "Aslan looked to Peter." Yeah. Just wanted to point that out so I won't get sued. ;-) Anyway, enjoy!**

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Chapter 3**

**Two Narnian years earlier**

_And Caspian knelt and kissed the Lion's paw._

"_Welcome, Prince," said Aslan. "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?"_

"_I--I don't think I do, Sir," said Caspian. "I'm only a kid."_

"_Good," said Aslan. "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not. Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts." Aslan looked to Peter. "That is, after the High King and his kin have gone on to their homeland."_

"_When might that be, Sire?" Peter asked, tossing Aslan an unsure look, as though he were afraid to know the answer._

"_Not soon, Son of Adam. For you will oversee the rebuilding of the ruins of Cair Paravel. You will prepare the way for a long line of Caspian's descendants." Then he stood back, positioned in between Peter and Caspian, and held his noble head high. "Rejoice and be glad, O Narnians, for the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve have returned to rule among us!" _

_Then rose up a great cheer from all who gathered. And Aslan let out a deafening roar..._

**Present**

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," came Edmund's too-cheerful voice from by the fire. Jennifer stirred.

"It's too early to be cheerful." She blinked and sat up. "Am I where I think I am?"

"Well, you haven't gone anywhere since last night, have you?"

"Considering what happened the last time I went to sleep, there's no telling." She scooted over by the fire and began warming her hands. "Where's Peter?"

"Gone to get breakfast. Thanks to you two pigs, there wasn't enough left over from last night."

"Oh." She ignored his "pig" comment, then for the first time looked closely at him in the daylight. "You're supposed to be just a kid!"

"Well, it has been two years since you last saw me. I'm fifteen now, you know." Nevertheless, he held his shoulders a bit higher.

"Fifteen! It was only three months ago when you were twelve. At least to me. And anyway, you look older than fifteen."

"Well the last time I was here, it was less than a month before my twenty-fifth birthday. I think there's something in the air that does that to me. All of us, really. The moment I set foot on Narnian soil again, I felt not at all like a schoolboy and much like a king again."

"I don't suppose I'd be able to understand, since I've never been here before…but there is something in the air that's rather…different."

"Of course there is," Edmund smiled. "It wouldn't be magic if there wasn't."

Suddenly there was a rustling in the trees ahead. "Breakfast, anyone?" It was Peter.

As they ate, Jennifer noticed that Peter looked older too. He was sixteen when school had let out, so Jennifer figured he'd be eighteen here and now. And tall and strong and handsome he was, too; though with their teasing history, Jen would barely admit it to herself, and _never _to his face.

"You know, you two (well, all four of you actually) never quite looked at home back in England," Jen mused. "Not after the war, anyway."

"How do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Well, you always looked like your clothes were uncomfortable, and the food was strange, and I'd catch both of you with this look in your eye like you were off in another world."

"Or at least wishing we were," Edmund nodded in agreement.

"It must have felt like coming home again," Jen sighed. "When you came back, I mean."

"Yes," Peter said with a smile of memory. "After we found our bearings and got over the initial shock of it, and especially once we were well into the battle."

"And now that you're back as kings and queens, staying at your old castle?"

"Oh, no," Edmund said. "It wasn't like that. Our old castle, Cair Paravel, was in ruins. We're in Caspian's castle now."

"But it's being rebuilt," Peter said eagerly. "It'll probably be finished within the next couple of years."

"Of course, a fortress like that would normally take ever so much longer if it were being built up from the ground," Edmund put in. "But since the ruins are still there and we have something to go by, it'll be done in a flash."

"And the longer, the better, I say," Peter said sadly. "The way Aslan talked, we'll be going home soon after it's finished. And who knows when we'll come back, if at all."

"Don't talk like that, Pete. We've still got a couple of years left, at the least. And with Jen here now, we've got no one to miss, save Mother and Father."

Peter cheered up. "Right. So let's enjoy it while we can." He looked around and saw that they were all done eating. "And now let's enjoy it by getting a move on."

"What are the plans?" Jen asked.

"Well, we were supposed to be out here for three more days hunting," Edmund said. "But now that you're here I suppose we'll be heading back to the castle."

Peter started putting the fire out. "We're not that far out," he said. "It shouldn't take more than half a day to get back, riding at an easy pace. Then we can get you settled in, with hopes that you'll be staying a while."

When they were all packed up with the horses saddled, Peter helped her up behind him on his horse. They headed toward the castle at an easy pace, joking and laughing and enjoying one another's company. They arrived in what seemed like no time, and burst through the castle doors calling for Susan and Lucy. Jennifer looked around at the castle and could hardly believe she was seeing something like that with her own eyes.

"Oh, you're back already? Whatever are you boys shouting about?" Susan's voice interrupted Jennifer's castle sight-seeing. With her long black hair pulled up beneath a delicate golden crown, and her flowing red dress, not to mention the two or so years added, Jen barely recognized her.

"Jennifer?" Susan asked, then looked to the boys as if for an explanation. "Jennifer Brown?"

The boys grinned. "We found her in the woods," Edmund explained. "Strange, isn't it?"

Susan's queenly face broke into a wide grin as the two girls embraced. "Strange indeed, to have found a friend from a life I barely remember! And no less wonderful, either! Jen, it's so good to see you."

Lucy was right behind her. She looked the part of a childlike princess with her silver tiara, lavender gown, and golden curls flowing free down her back. She looked far older than the ten-year-old Jen had last seen, though she was still the same little girl at heart. Ever full of bubbling energy, she bounced up to Jen and hugged her tightly. "It's been so long! I'd have thought you'd have forgotten us by now!" She peppered Jen and the boys with questions as Susan pulled aside a servant to make ready a room for Jen.

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A/N: Just a note real quick...Jennifer isn't the only main character in this story...it's kind of a Peter/Jen/_some_ Edmund-centric story...not in a romance way but as the main characters. Of course, this has mostly been her story up to this point because, of course, we know what happens to the other four up to this point! ;-) Next chapter I plan to do some character-building with her..._avoiding _of course the dreaded Mary Sue...and then after that I'm gonna try to work in a combination of POV's. Just kinda wanted to give yall an idea of where I was going. Ok anyway, keep reviewing!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ha! Good at updating? On this story maybe...but go to my profile and check out the update dates on the rest of them...this is extremely out of character for me! lol. It's cause the wonderful reviews keep me going! And don't worry, I have a plan...she's not just in Narnia because I said so...it won't be Aslan she talks to...yet...but it will be somebody. Coming up in the next chapter, actually. Don't worry, I've gotcha covered. Sooo...enjoy!**

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Chapter 4**

When the room was ready, Susan and Lucy took her up and showed her around. Much more than just a spare room, this was more like a suite. With elaborate decorations and magnificent furniture, Jen didn't see how the kings' and queens' rooms could be any lovelier. As she was looking around, Susan glided over to the wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful green dress, motioning to several more inside. She was obviously quite proud of the collection, so Jen oohed and ahhed over them politely, despite her general dislike of fancy dresses. They were indeed beautiful, and some were simple enough that Jen could possibly see herself wearing them if she must.

"I'll have the maid prepare a bath if you'd like," Susan said. "What fun the boys see in lying on the ground and getting dirty on those hunting trips, I'll never know."

Lucy rolled her eyes behind Susan's back. "But that's the fun part about it," she whispered.

Jen nodded her agreement and suppressed a chuckle. "Actually, yes, a bath would be nice, if you don't mind. I can't exactly see putting on one of these things without one."

After the girls had gone and she had had a lovely hot bath, she slipped on one of the less elaborate of the dresses. It was a rich dark green velvet, with gold trim. The collar came up to her neck, with a slit to her collarbone. The skirt was long and full, and would most definitely prove bothersome, but it seemed appropriate under the circumstances. A maid came and pulled the sides of her long-ish nutmeg hair back into a braid, leaving the rest of it hanging down her back. After a little too much fussing and primping from the maid, she looked in the wardrobe and found some black boots, practical for the circumstances yet feminine enough so as to complement the dress, not clash with it.

When she was through dressing, she made her way to the corridor where Susan and Lucy had gone, and almost ran into them. "Jennifer! You look lovely! Come along, let's show you to the boys," Susan gushed.

"Oh, now really Susan, I don't suppose they would care--" But Susan was already pulling her down the stairs with Lucy trailing along, giggling at Jen's misfortune.

They found the boys talking with a handsome young man who seemed to be a prince or somebody important.

"Jen!" Peter greeted. "We're glad you've come down! I'd like you to meet a friend of ours. Jen, this is Caspian, the prince I was telling you about. Caspian, this is our very old and dear friend, Jennifer." As they greeted one another and said "Pleased to meet you" and other formalities, Susan cleared her throat at the boys. Peter and Edmund looked around, trying to find out what Susan was going on about. Then they noticed Jen in the fancy dress.

"Well, Jen. I see Susan worked her magic," Peter quipped.

"You look nice, Jen. Very lovely. You fit right in," Edmund said sincerely.

Peter had other opinions. "Jen, you look--" he said with a straight face. "You look like a girl!" With this he burst out laughing.

Jen slugged him in the arm. "Doesn't mean I hit like one," she muttered. Then her expression changed to innocent, though her hazel eyes twinkled, and she said sweetly, "How kind! You know, you look like one too!"

The laughter ceased.

They bantered back and forth playfully for a minute until Lucy interrupted. "I'd say it's about lunchtime, and there's no need wasting it by going on like this. I'm hungry!"

They all laughed. "Well, you heard her Highness," Caspian chuckled. "Lunch it is then!"

After lunch, Susan took her leave of the party and Caspian did likewise. Peter and Edmund and Lucy began showing Jennifer around the castle. They talked constantly, going on about this and that as if they'd had no one to talk to for two years. They also told her many stories about their first time reigning in Narnia. Jennifer was especially interested in hearing about the battles.

"So the two of you are real knights?" she asked, sounding like an awestruck child.

"In the flesh," Edmund chuckled. "Knighted by Aslan Himself."

"So you two have seen a lot of battles?"

"You _three_," Lucy corrected. "Do you think I let the boys have all the fun?"

Jennifer looked thrilled. "So women fight in Narnia too?" she asked hopefully.

"Only Luce," Peter said proudly. "who's as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy."

"How exciting!" Jen said. "I've always wanted to know how to use a sword, and ride a horse, and go off to battle..."

"Sometimes it's exciting. And sometimes it's horrible." Edmund shuddered. "It's just something you have to do."

"Still...how I'd love to be in your shoes."

Edmund and Lucy looked at each other and grinned.

"Oh, but you are," Peter smiled. "At least, in some ways." He took her hand. "Come with me."

He led her around the castle and back up to her room. Lying on the bed was a beautiful sword.

"I saw you looking at mine earlier...I thought you might like to know how to use it."

Jennifer walked to the bed and fingered the sword thoughtfully. Then she looked down with a slight smile. "This _has _to be a dream."

Peter laughed. "No, I'm pretty sure it's not."

"No, no...you don't understand. Just as I went to sleep back at my grandmother's, after reading that book with just this sort of thing in it, I was thinking how I wished, oh I wished that I could live in that sort of time and place...and the next thing I know I am. I never would have imagined..."

"Well, now you know how we felt coming here for the first time. It was almost too good to be true, and yet it was." He laughed again. "Well, if you'd like, I'll prove it's not a dream. There's nothing like a bruise from the flat of a sword during training to wake you up. How would you like that?"

"Right now?"

"Why not?

"Well, now it is, then." She smiled. "Thank you...for everything."

"Of course! Don't mention it. Now come with me and we'll get Edmund, and we'll see if we can't show you how to use this thing."

Five minutes later the two boys were fully engaged in trying to show Jennifer some basic techniques. It was indeed an effort on their part, for even though she was as strong and tough as any girl her age could be expected to be, her small build and rather...clumsy nature put her off balance more than a little. However, she had fun with it, mostly turning the blame on the boys whenever she goofed.

There was one particular instance when she had just finished slugging Edmund in the arm for a teasing comment he had made in response to a particularly clumsy moment of hers, and they were just starting to go at it again. A voice came from behind.

"Most honored and noble friends, while I am loth to risk offending the skilled and practiced swordsmanship of your Majesties, perhaps there is a thing or two I could teach the lady?"

Jen turned to see where the voice was coming from, and promptly screamed.

"_Peter! Edmund!_ What is _THAT_?"

"Your pardon, my lady, but if I may speak in the defense of myself and my dignity, I--" The voice stopped as it was obvious that Jen wasn't listening.

Peter and Edmund were laughing hysterically. Peter composed himself just enough to speak.

"This," he said with a grin, "is Reepicheep."

The thing bowed.

"Yes, b-but what _is _it?"

"I will excuse the lady (this time) on the knowledge that some may have never seen a mouse before, but--"

"A _mouse_? But you--you _speak!"_

"Yes, my lady, how very observant of you. If I may make so bold, so do you."

Jen disregarded the sarcasm and looked to the boys, as if for an explanation.

Edmund looked to Peter. "Did we neglect to tell her that the animals talk here?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"No, we didn't! I remember! We told her about Aslan, didn't we? We mentioned that _He _talked!"

Jen shook her head. "I didn't know what you meant! I thought maybe He was _like _a lion, or was _called _a lion, but I didn't realize you actually meant He _was _a lion!" She looked shot a bewildered look towards the Mouse. "Now I've seen it all..."

"Of course, my dear lady. This is _Narnia! _What did you expect?" The mouse bowed again. "Now, if I may start over in a more mannerly fashion, allow me to introduce myself. I, of course, am Reepicheep. And honored to make your acquaintance, to be sure." He offered his hand, and when she took it he didn't shake it, but kissed it charmingly.

"I'm Jen. And likewise pleased to meet you. I'm afraid I've never met a talking mouse before."

"Quite all right. Any friend of their Royal Majesties is a friend of mine. Now...would you be so magnanimous as to allow me to assist in the lesson of basic swordsmanship--not in the _least _offending the honor of their most noble and skilled Majesties, of course, but only to aid in the well-aimed goal of teaching this fine lady the--"

"I'd be delighted, most honorable Sir. Thank you." Jen was over her initial shock enough to be greatly amused, though she was wise enough to hide it for the sake of the fragile dignity of the Mouse.

Peter and Edmund only looked at each other and shook their heads.

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A/N: If there's one thing my female characters all have in common, it is the strong dislike of dresses. This is the one thing about me that is always incorporated into my characters. But as I get older, though I doubt I will ever learn to like dresses on a regular basis, I have gotten better about it, thus my characters have too. Maybe one day the near-phobia will vanish altogether and I will actually become feminine. Who knows?**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm serious, I am so excited to get so many wonderful reviews! Yall are so awesome!**

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Chapter 5**

The first few days in Narnia were nothing short of paradise for Jennifer. She received extensive sword training from the most noble Reepicheep, and actually began to show some signs of improvement. Her friends the kings and queens spent every spare minute teaching her the ways of Narnia and all its creatures, giving her detailed accounts of everything they could think of. She also met all sorts of talking beasts and strange creatures. Susan lost no time in arranging a banquet in her honor, inviting the inhabitants of all the surrounding regions, which was to take place in two weeks' time. (Of course, Narnians need no reason to make merry, and this was just the sort of thing Susan loved.)

Every day they and Jen went for walks in the garden and the occasional picnic in the woods. One warm, fine day, about a week after her arrival, Edmund had ridden to an encampment of a neighboring realm just outside the border for some negotiations or other, and Lucy had gone with him. Susan was in the palace doing...well, whatever it was that Susan did on days like that. Peter and Jennifer had gone for a walk in the woods, and were now sitting lazily under trees, talking as old friends do.

"You know, some people just have all the luck," Jennifer remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and your brother and sisters were ordinary people, and one day you just become kings and queens. You don't call that luck?" She grinned.

"Well, what can I say? We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and naturally we became heroes."

Jen laughed. "True enough, true enough. But still...it would be a lovely thing to have happen."

"Oh, don't tell me you've succumbed to the universal lust for power and are jealous of us now," Peter teased.

"Well, what if I had?" she said sarcastically. "Seriously though, I'm here, and that's quite enough for me. But..."

"But...?"

"You must admit, it is quite an astonishing chance. Peter Pevensie, a king? Who back home would believe it?"

"Good point, I suppose." His eyes twinkled. "Well...if you so have the treacherous hunger for power that comes from the desire to be queen..."

"Yes?"

"There is _one _thing you could do."

"Go on."

He grinned. "Kill me."

She laughed. "Oh, no. I could never do that"

"Oh, so you like me that much, do you?"

"Not exactly," she teased. "But I have nothing against Ed and Lucy and Susan, and to kill you would dethrone them." She smiled innocently. "Even _I'm _not _that_ evil."

"Oh really?" Peter asked, one eyebrow raised. This warranted a punch in the arm, which led to an all-out tussle.

Later that day, she was talking with Susan about it. Susan seemed to understand her struggle to understand the meaning of it all.

"We all had our purpose here. We were called through the wardrobe because we needed to save Narnia. That's the reason we had _our_ stroke of luck."

Jen nodded. "That part is clear..."

"What you want to know is why _you're _here, am I right?"

Again, Jen nodded.

Susan took her hand and began pulling her towards the door. "I have an idea. Come with me."

She led her to the stables, where they mounted their horses. Jen had no idea where they were going, but Susan knew exactly what she was doing. She led Jen deep into the forest, quite a ways from the castle, to a strange-looking home.

"Glenstorm? Glenstorm, are you home?" she called out.

Suddenly, out came the strangest-looking creature Jen had ever seen. When she first looked, all she saw was a strong, noble man with a broad chest and a golden beard. Then she looked again. From reading her beloved books, she recognized the half-man, half-horse creature as a centaur.

"Jennifer, allow me to introduce to you Glenstorm, a most gifted seer," Susan began politely.

"Seer? Like a prophet?" Jen asked.

Glenstorm laughed, a rich, deep sound. "Honored to make your acquaintance, my lady." He bowed. "Won't you come in? It seems the two of you would seek my counsel, for her Majesty does not often wander so far from the castle just to get some fresh air."

Once they were in and seated, Susan began telling the seer Jennifer's story. The stately creature only listened, nodding every now and then.

When Susan was finished, the centaur leaned back. "The stars have said very little of the lady, little directly, mind you. However, I have seen something else, something that you should know about. It may or may not concern this newcomer."

"Go on," Susan said eagerly.

He became serious. "The end of the time of the Four Thrones is near at hand," he said deeply. "A new order will be set up at Cair Paravel."

"But we already knew this," Susan said in a puzzled tone. "We're to oversee the rebuilding of the ruins, and then Caspian will reign. Aslan Himself said so."

"Sooner than that, I'm afraid," Glenstorm said. "However, Caspian's time to rule has not yet come."

"But whatever do you mean? Are we to be sent home soon?"

"The stars only reveal so much, your Majesty. I do not know the answer to all things."

"Then what are we to _do?" _Susan asked. "I mean, should Aslan request it of us, we would step down in a moment, if He willed it."

"Like as not He knows this, Daughter of Eve. However, I do not think it would be wise to take any action at this prophecy for the time. Continue as you have been, and when the time to take action is right, you will know it."

Susan nodded. Then she stopped. "You said the stars revealed _little _about Jennifer. What little did they reveal?"

"Only that a newcomer would arrive, and that she would become a great warrior." He paused. "Now, all that I know, I have told you."

Susan stood up. "Thank you, my friend. You've been ever so helpful."

The next evening, the four monarchs and Jennifer were sitting in the castle. Susan and Jennifer had just finished telling Peter, Edmund, and Lucy what the centaur had said, and the five of them were discussing the puzzling prophecy.

"Aslan said we would reign until Cair Paravel was rebuilt," Lucy said. "I don't think He'd change His mind."

"And He said we wouldn't be going back soon," Edmund added.

"But two years isn't that short of a time," Susan said reasonably. "When you think about it, we've been here a while."

"So will we be dethroned here, or do you think we'll be sent home?" Edmund asked.

"There's no way of knowing, Ed," Susan said sadly. "Glenstorm said we'd know what to do when the time is right."

Lucy turned to her oldest brother. "Peter? What do you think?"

The High King thought a moment. Then his eyes grew wide as a realization dawned on him. "She's going to kill me."

"Who, Peter? Who's going to kill you?" the others asked frantically.

He looked alarmed. "She's going to kill me," he said again, his eyes full of fear.

"Who?" Lucy demanded.

"She is," Peter said slowly, fearfully, then pointed to Jennifer.

Jen looked confused for a moment, then suddenly she remembered their conversation the previous day and burst out laughing.

"You turkey!" She hit him in the arm, then let the others in on the joke, which brought on a big round of laughter at Peter's goofing off.

Finally Edmund wiped his eyes. "Come on, Peter," he said between laughs. "We're being serious!"

"So was I," Peter laughed, gasping for breath.

"It wasn't that funny," Susan said, though she herself wasn't very successful at hiding a snicker. She finally saw that there was no use in trying to discuss the prophesy seriously anymore, and promptly gave up.

Later that night found Peter in his room. He was gazing out the window, deep in thought. He may have maintained his usual joking demeanor on the outside during their earlier conversation, but a place deep in his mind was disturbed by the prophesy.

The High King had faced numerous battles and horrible enemies, but there was something he feared even more than the worst of these.

_Don't make me go home, _he pleaded in a silent prayer.

He knew if Aslan called him back to England, he would go. But it was the last thing in the world he wanted.

His reign had been fourteen years in length the first time. That was just one year less than the fifteen years he had grown up in England. Narnia was more his home than England had ever been, and thus it remained. And it probably always would. His kingdom was his first and only love. His heart was in this land, hopelessly entangled so as to never be extricated. He would never be able to feel at home in England.

He felt old, so much older than his peers. He mostly kept to himself at school, he and Edmund both. For the mellow, thoughtful Edmund, it was all very well, but to Peter it was strange, to keep his joking, teasing personality to himself. But his schoolmates were all interested in things that he cared nothing for, and he felt he had little in common with them. And as the years went by, he would feel older still.

And now he had passed his eighteenth birthday, for the second time. _Is this what immortality feels like? To be trapped in the years, with the mind growing old and the body staying young? _Of course, while he remained in Narnia, he didn't mind. It was the advantageous coupling of wisdom and youth. But at home, it just made him weary.

He worried for himself, surely. He longed to stay here forever, to never go back. And he wanted the same for Lucy and Edmund, for he knew their hearts lie here as well. But it was really for Susan that he feared. For when they had gone back the first time, she had forgotten the easiest.

"_Edmund, what's that song you're humming?"_

"_Don't you remember, Susan? It's the ballad they used to sing in Narnia about the dryads..."_

"_Oh yes. I thought it sounded familiar."_

Or,

"_Look at that little grove of trees! Doesn't it remind you of something?"_

"_Lu, what are you talking about?"_

"_Remember? The place in the castle garden with the little table where we'd always play chess!"_

"_Oh, right. Yes, it looks quite like it..."_

As their time away from Narnia wore on, she never quite forgot altogether, though she talked about it less and less. Finally it got to where she just went on with her life, acting as if their time in Narnia had been little more than a dream, if even that. And his heart ached for her, knowing that she didn't remember because it hurt too much. It was too painful to be suddenly whisked away from the land they all called home.

And now they were back, completely at peace.

_Don't make us go home..._

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A/N: Ok long chapter I know. And I've actually got the first part of Chapter 6 written... so hopefully it'll be done by tomorrow. Reviews are so so so extremely appreciated, and suggestions are welcomed!**


	7. Interlude

**A/N: Sorry it was so long in coming! Merry Christmas!**

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Interlude **

_The battle scenery flashed by in slow-motion as he felt the icy blade plunge into his abdomen. A second wave of pain coursed through his body as the sword was pulled out. He heard his beloved brother yell his name, and then his knees gave way and he fell to the ground. He lay still, as still as death._

_It was the most noble thing he had ever done, and here he lay dying for it. Well, it didn't matter anyway. It was the least he could do, for he was the cause of this whole affair anyway. Yes, it was every bit his fault. If only he hadn't been so selfish...if only he had thought of his sweet sisters, and the brother that loved him so dearly--oh! the brother that now rushed to avenge him, who was perhaps minutes from losing his own life._

_He smelled blood everywhere; he felt it, too--indeed, he was lying in a pool of it, clutching the gaping hole in his stomach. The pain was so intense for such a young boy that he almost didn't feel it...and yet he did, as keen as he'd ever felt anything. He could feel unconsciousness tugging at his mind, but he refused to give in, refused to do anything but hold on, for his brother was coming for him. _

_But no! In one horrible moment, he too was down, at the hand of the self-same entity he had been betrayed to. All hope was lost for the young traitor, who gave himself up to the blackness that so quickly washed over him._

_And still there was pain._

_But then, after what seemed like a million forevers, something besides pain and nothingness touched his senses. He suddenly knew a flowery taste, as if beauty itself had been bottled up and touched upon his lips. His eyes opened of their own accord and he looked up into the beautiful face of his dear, sweet younger sister. He scarcely had time to wonder, for he was quickly caught up in the embrace of his brother, oh, his brother! who was alive yet, and clutching him as though time itself were ending. When they at last parted, came the smiling, choked voice of his brother: "When will you ever learn to do as you're told?"_

_He knew all was forgiven._

_And yet, though enclosed in the arms of the three he loved dearest, his wound gone at the hand of his sister with not so much as a scar remaining, the memory of it would never fade._

_And still he smelled blood._

"Ed?" Peter's voice broke the younger king's thoughts.

He looked up at his brother.

"This is the third time I've said your name. What's bothering you?"

Edmund shrugged. "I was just...thinking."

"Care to talk?"

Edmund sat down by the window. "I was thinking about our first battle. With the White Witch..."

Peter, knowing how painful the memory was to his brother, put a kind hand on Edmund's shoulder.

"We were so young--so young to have seen so much..."

"We did what we had to do, Ed."

"We had blood on our hands, Peter. I was eleven years old and I had the blood of thousands on my hands. And you...how many did you kill that day?"

"They were evil creatures, Edmund. We had no choice." Still the voice came ever-so-patiently.

"No...but we killed them nonetheless."

Peter sighed. He hated the guilt that hung over Edmund's head, hated that his kind, merciful brother had to carry so much weight. He knew the memory of that battle hung over the younger one's head every time they rode to battle. For Peter, battles were an adventure, a conquest. For Edmund, however, they were a reminder of the worst thing he ever did.

"Peter...we're training Jen to do the same thing."

Peter shook his head. "We can't think of it like that, Edmund. She's going to make a great and powerful warrior, you know that. The centaur said so. Remember...the stars don't lie, but men and beasts--and feelings--do."

"But I can't bear to see her--to see her lose her innocence like we did all those lifetimes ago. To expose her to all the blood, so much blood..." He looked down, and once again his troubled eyes filled with memories, memories of pain and guilt and blood, and his reverie went on uninterrupted for quite some time. Peter, ever patient, waited for his brother to speak again.

"No," Edmund finally said, looking up sadly. "We can't keep her prophesy from being fulfilled."

"Ed, she can handle herself." He gave his troubled brother a sympathetic smile. "Don't you worry about her."

Edmund smiled back, ever-so-slightly, in silent thanks to his supportive big brother, then they said goodnight.

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A/N: Ok I know this doesn'treally do anything to further the plotline of thestory, it's just something that came out when I sat down to write. And I didn't have time to write anything else, cause of the busyness of Christmas and everything. Plus I've kind of got writer's block. Don't flame me for this chapter, cause I don't have time to add to it. I just wanted to further my interperetation ofEdmund's character a little, and cause I wanted to slip in an author's note. I'm not going to be updating for the next couple of weeks…good stuff happening. My youth group will be at a youthconference till Wednesday…that's gonna be a lot of fun. And then Thursday, my boyfriend, who lives across the country, will be coming down to stay with my family for about a week. SoI'm excited about that.Except that I'm not gonna be updating…oh well. I'm not complaining! Lol. So anyway, just wanted yall to know that I didn't give up on it, still love the great reviews I'm getting, and why I'll be MIA for the next couple of weeks. So anyway, sorry about the wait, and sorry this chapter was kind of lame. Better stuff coming, I promise! **


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